No Longer There
by Fusion0104
Summary: "I know, but he's living as if he'd dead. When only one of us really is. And I want him to stop." A tragic car accident causes Natsu to lose both Mavis and Zeref, even though one might be with him physically. Angst. Manga Spoilers. Oneshot


He doesn't know how to react when he hears about it. Watching the phone fall from his brother's grasp, his eyes wide as he processed that information. He watched his brother run out the front door, slam his car into ignition and drive to the hospital like a madman.

Lucy grabbed his phone, having the sense to ask the other person on the line to repeat the information. She then haltingly conveyed the information to him, that his brother's wife had been in a disastrous car accident. They had hurried to the hospital, the family reunion they had been enjoying a while back cut short.

Mavis was in the operation theatre by the time they arrived, Zeref pacing outside in the hallway relentlessly. He didn't leave to eat or to drink, or even to rest until the doctor came out and said the operation had been successful despite the massive amount of internal injuries Mavis had endured. Except for one thing. She was in coma.

The first month was torture. Zeref refused to leave her room, insisting that she would wake up any second. Natsu and Lucy made frequent trips to the hospital as well. Mavis didn't have any family, it was only them and her close friends who would visit. Gradually as the months went by, they had almost adjusted to their ordinary lives without the bright blonde ball of sunshine. Except for Zeref. His job, his family, his friends, even his life came second to Mavis. Watching her lifeless form broke him everyday, and seeing his brother hurt was unbearable for Natsu.

Would she wake up? It was realistic to believe that after a year in coma she would not. It wasn't even optimistic to believe she would wake up. But there was the slightest chance she would, and Zeref clung to that with all his might.

Natsu found it worse. Mavis was an amazing person and she had changed his brother's life. She was a cheerful soul, helpful too. She got along with Natsu, and even Lucy. She was the best sister in law he could ever ask for. In that one year, he had accepted that she wouldn't get up and give him a hug and pull his cheeks like she used to. Lucy had been a great support in that regard. She taught him to cherish her memory. Yet Zeref refused to accept that. In that one accident, he lost both Mavis and Zeref.

He said that he would wait for her. Wait for her forever. Some times Natsu imagined him and Lucy in Zeref and Mavis' place. He would be beyond crushed too. He wouldn't want to ever let her go. But watching his brother go through it, he knew that someone would have brought him to his senses if it were him. He could see Zeref letting his entire life pass by. Mavis would have never wanted for him to do that. She would have scolded him for wasting a single minute of his life in depression. She'd tell him to smile, to be happy. To cherish the fact that he was still alive.

He said as much to Lucy. She always let him vent about Zeref. She always supported him. She stood like a pillar, sharing his grief and helping him get over it. And now, he wanted to save his brother.

"Zeref," he murmured as he entered the hospital room, Lucy a step behind him. "We're holding the family reunion this Saturday." It was an annual thing, although last year had been a pitiful disaster. Hopefully this year, things would start to improve.

"It's in the afternoon this time." Lucy added with a smile when he didn't respond. "I don't suppose you have anything planned do you?"

 _As if he would_ , Natsu wanted to scoff. _He barely leaves this place_. He immediately felt ashamed for thinking like that, as much as it was true. Zeref didn't respond.

"Oi, bro!" He called out. "You're coming right?"

No response.

"Well? Are you even gonna make an appearance?"

"We should go Natsu." Lucy murmured, sensing tension.

"What?" Natsu continued, his voice tense. "Are you planning on living your life anytime soon? Cause that's what Mavis would've wanted and you know that."

At the sound of her name, he shifted slightly, but didn't bother to reply. Natsu felt a spring uncoil in his stomach, and he let it all out. All the anger, the frustration, the worry. Everything.

"You come here everyday, I get it your loyal. But, I can't stand seeing you wait for someone that will never come back! Leave this place! LIVE YOUR FUCKING LIFE ALREADY!" He yelled, grabbing his brother by the shoulder, forcing Zeref to look him in the eye.

"You know he can't hear you right? He didn't hear you the first time you said it, and he won't hear you now." Lucy reminded him, holding him back.

Natsu sighed, shaking his head mournfully. "I know, but he's living as if he's dead. When only one of us really is. And I want him to stop."

"He loved you a lot." There wasn't much else Lucy could say.

"I know."

He turned back to look at his brother one last time. The sunken hollows in his cheeks, the pale skin, the dark circles under his eyes. His black hair was messy, falling over his black eyes and concealing what little emotion he showcased. He was leaving forward on the chair, his clothes crumpled, as though expecting she would wake up any second now.

Natsu shook his head. He was the optimistic one of the two, but he had been the first of them to face reality. Why couldn't Zeref? Why did he insist they keep her body plunged to those life support machines when each day what little life was left in her body seemed to fade away.

It was hopeless. He just hoped Zeref understood that one day. How sometimes letting go was more important that keeping close.

* * *

 **Well, first time writing angst. Geez, that was _something_... **


End file.
